stellar embrace

By Adele Mamedova

Identifies with the nation of Azerbaijan

The air is cold My
breath is not So warm
clouds float around my
         chapped blue mouth


People walk ahead
but i can’t I freeze
to stare upon the
          open sky


With not a spot left
without a white star
The stars coat it like
           a blanket


And my neck is craned
to look up at the
sky And my lips crack
         from my smile


Stars in the sky is
a common sight But
not in the way i
     felt that night


A million eyes
watching over me
I cry and tears freeze
while i smile


There is not a moon
It is only me
and the stars and the
        passerby’s


And I feel free, the
stars are endless And
i know i’m breathing
        and a speck

Adele Mammadova is a 16-year-old high school student from Kazakhstan, now living in Minnesota, who loves to write. She was a 2023 Adroit Journal poetry mentee, and her work has been published in several literary magazines. When not writing poetry, Adele is involved in debate, tennis, track, and science research. One of her favorite books is In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, and she is currently trying to learn to crochet.